In the United States alone, there are 200 million privately owned small firearms. It is estimated that every seven minutes, a death is caused by a child who gains access to a firearm belonging to his parents or to another adult. This is because the child believes the firearm to be a toy, or simply does not know the dangers involved in handling the firearm. The problem is especially prevalent with toddlers 6 to 14 years of age. Parents often hide loaded firearms in their homes in places where they do not believe children will find them, but the location of the handgun often becomes known and the child is severely injured or killed playing with it.
This situation has led to the development of a variety of different safety devices and mechanisms that are designed for preventing unauthorized or unintentional use of a handgun or other firearm. Some devices employ trigger or barrel locks, which require removal or deactivation of the lock prior to shooting of the firearm. Others work on the basis of electronic locking systems that recognize, and thus only allow operation by an authorized user. Another way to prevent unauthorized access to a firearm, which is commonly used, is to lock the firearm (and the ammunition) in a safe or locked closet or drawer.
The following patents are hereby incorporated by reference and are meant to serve as examples of the prior art in the field of safety devices or mechanisms for firearms: U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,811 to Sansom relates to a trigger lock device that includes a lock assembly that is positionable between a firearm trigger and a firearm frame within the trigger guard. The lock assembly is arranged so as to discourage access to the firearm by children and the like by providing for ease of access to the firearm by adults comprehending the ease of disengaging the lock structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,252 to Ray relates to a locking device for firearms which prevents firearms from being removed by children from the walls from which they are being displayed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,526 to Campbell relates to a child resistant quick release firearm safety and security device that is inserted into the loading port of a firearm. The device must be freed from the firearm prior to operation of the firearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,158 to Fuller et al. relates to a trigger guard for a firearm. The trigger guard is essentially a clamping mechanism that overlies at least part of the trigger that has do be shifted in order to allow for operation of the trigger. All of the cited patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Further examples of patents which relates to the field of safety devices are U.S. Pat. No. 467,524 (524) to Storer; U.S. Pat. No. 846,591 (591) to mason; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,296,088 (088) to Jones. Patent 524 relates to a safety trigger for breech loading guns. Patent 524 teaches how to prevent an accidental discharge of the gun and injury to the forefinger in restoring the finger-lever to position after cocking the gun by the finger-lever. Patent 524 does not teach a safety mechanism that prevents an accidental discharge by toddlers. Patent 591 relates to an improvement in the class of automatic firearms in which the extraction and ejection of the spent shell, the relocking of the hammer and the loading of a cartridge into the gun-barrel is effected by the breech mechanism acting under the influence of the explosion gases. Patent 088 relates to a finger attachment for signaling devices. In patent 088, a fingertip attachment is disclosed which permits the operator of a car to blow the horn without lifting his hand from the perimeter of the steering wheel to the center of the steering wheel, where the horn is often located. All of the cited patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.